PIB airport gets federal grant funding

PUT-IN-BAY – Put-In-Bay’s Middle Bass Airport is getting more than $100,000 in federal funds to help with snow removal and wildlife studies at the Ottawa County airfield.

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced Thursday that the Put-in-Bay Township Port Authority had been awarded funds through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make improvements to the Middle Bass Airport.

Brown said the new funding will also be used for a wildlife hazard assessment around the airport.

“The Middle Bass Airport supports tourism and commerce in Ottawa County,” Brown said in a release. “This funding will improve the safety and efficiency of the airport so it can remain a reliable option for the region.”

Rosann Keiser, the port authority’s secretary, said in an email that the $100,800 in grant money is for new snow removal equipment for the airport.

Tamika Turner, a Brown spokesperson, said the wildlife study would assess the number of birds and other animal species in the area and around the airport.

Keiser said the equipment being replaced is 15 years old. The grant also includes a wildlife study at the airport, which Keiser said was needed.

“Being right on the lake we do have a problem with seagulls and geese hanging around the airport runway. It’s a safety issue for planes coming in and out of the airport,” Keiser said.

It is the second major federal funding announcement for the airport in the past two years.

In 2014, the FAA awarded $548,734 to the Put-in-Bay Port Authority for taxiway work at the airport.

That project funded construction of 1,670 feet of partial parallel taxiway to provide access to the hangars and reconstruction of 2,550 feet of pavement on Taxiway A that has reached the end of its useful life, according to a news release.

The grant announcement from Brown’s office comes about a week after the state announced nearly $6 million in funding for the Lonz Winery renovation project on Middle Bass Island State Park in Ottawa County.